


Prince Charming

by PresidentHades



Category: Designated Survivor (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-11-14 15:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11210826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PresidentHades/pseuds/PresidentHades
Summary: Penny is going to marry Aaron Shore one day. Emily/Aaron





	1. So This Is Love

**One: So This Is Love**

The first time she meets her future husband, she’s five and Daddy has taken her to the White House, where the President lives. “Penny, honey, Daddy needs you to wait right here,” he tells her as they stand in front of a security checkpoint. “These nice men are going to keep an eye on you for just a few minutes while I get something from my office, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy…” But the big men look kind of scary. Mike is big, but she knows him too well for him to be scary anymore.

Kicking her feet in the air, Penny tries to wait patiently on the bench. Really, she does. But like children tend to do, she gets bored.

The big scary men are distracted as some obnoxious-sounding woman approaches them and begins to berate them. Penny sighs, hops down from her seat, and begins to wander. As she nears an open door, she perks up as her nose detects a heavenly smell.

_Cookies!_

She tries to follow the aroma but soon loses it. She pouts, disappointed that her cookie mission was a failure, and turns to go back and wait for Daddy. That’s when she realizes she has no idea where she is.

The hallway looks very big, metallic, and frightening. Something creaks in the distance, and she jumps. _I want Daddy!_ Her lip wobbles, and soon she begins to cry.

Penny isn’t alone with her tears for long. She hears footsteps hurrying toward her, and she looks up in hopes of Daddy. Instead it’s a strange man, very tall—taller than Daddy—and dressed in a suit. She stares at him as he approaches her; last night’s viewing of Disney’s _Cinderella_ is fresh on her mind, so as he kneels in front of her, the first words out of her mouth are “Prince Charming?”

He looks perplexed for a moment, and then he laughs. “No, I’m afraid not. My name is Aaron. Are you lost?”

She nods, marveling at the man before her. He’s even handsomer than Prince Charming! “I can’t find my daddy.”

“Can you tell me your daddy’s name?”

Before she can answer, the _click-clack_ of high heels rushes toward them. “Penny, there you are! Your dad’s been looking everywhere for you.”

“Emily!” Penny exclaims, recognizing the nice woman who works for her daddy.

Aaron stands back up as Emily comes to a stop beside them. “Emily,” he greets. “Is this Secretary Kirkman’s daughter, then?”

“Yes,” Emily answers, sounding very frazzled. “Thank you for keeping an eye on her. She was supposed to wait by security.”

“The secretary does know that security isn’t a daycare, right?”

“He’s aware,” Emily snaps. “It was out of necessity and only for ten minutes. Even you could keep an eye on a well-behaved child for that long, couldn’t you?”

“I had a lot of younger cousins growing up, so yes, I daresay I could.”

Penny interrupts their bickering by tugging on Emily’s hand. “Can I see Daddy now?”

“Of course, Penny.” Emily shoots one last glare at Aaron. “Mr. Shore,” she says crisply.

“Miss Rhodes,” he replies mockingly.

Penny looks up at him. “Bye, Mr. Aaron.”

His expression transforms as he smiles back at her. “Goodbye, Princess Penny.” For good measure, he kisses Penny’s hand. Despite herself, Emily finds it incredibly sweet.

For several weeks after that, Penny obsessively watches _Cinderella_ nearly every night. Daddy looks over her shoulder one evening as she finishes a drawing. “Is that Cinderella and Prince Charming?”

“That’s so good! But why is Prince Charming so much taller than Cinderella?”


	2. Something There

**Two: Something There**

Penny forgets about her future husband for several months. The next time she sees him, she’s turned six and she’s at the White House again for the Easter Egg Roll. Alongside hordes of other children, she receives a wooden egg and lines up to roll it across the lawn in a race. Unfortunately, she doesn’t do very well, and she pouts for a while over it.

“Come on, little pea, give Daddy a smile,” he pleads, but she crosses her arms and looks away. “I thought you were a champ, Penny.” When she continues to sulk, Daddy’s expression grows more stern. “Penny, I don’t know if I like your attitude right now. Do you want a time-out?”

No, she doesn’t. But she keeps looking sullen anyway, and soon Daddy is leading her to a tent where some children are napping, with their parents quietly chatting nearby. Daddy explains to one of the supervisors what’s going on and sits Penny in a chair in the corner. He sits near her for some time, alternatively looking at his phone and at her, shaking his head every time he sees that her morose expression hasn’t changed.

His phone rings, and the parents in the tent shoot him dirty looks as some of the children stir. Daddy jumps to his feet, whispers to Penny that he wants to see her with a better attitude when he returns, and hurries out of the tent.

Time-out is boring. But Penny knows that when _Daddy_ puts her in time-out, he means it, so she needs to stay put. Her bottom lip juts out even further, and she kicks her feet in the air.

Someone ducks into the tent. Recognizing them, she exclaims happily, “Emily!” She’s quickly shushed by the other adults.

Emily looks at her in surprise then smiles. “Hi, Penny,” she whispers. “What are you doing here?”

“Um...time-out,” Penny confesses sheepishly.

“Uh-oh. What happened?”

“Bad attitude,” she mumbles.

Emily _tsk_ s. “You know better than that, Penny Kirkman.”

“Yeah… What are _you_ doing here?” she asks curiously.

“I lost something and I was checking to see if it was in here,” Emily explains. She had a shift earlier volunteering as one of the supervisors for the nap tent.

“What’d you lose?”

“My earring.” Emily sighs. “I hope I can find it. It’s my favorite pair.”

Someone else enters the tent. Emily recognizes them too, and this time she can’t help squealing, “Mr. Aaron?” She’s quickly shushed again.

The tall man looks surprised for a moment before recognition flashes across his face. “Princess Penny, right?” he says teasingly.

Penny nods, beaming.

The trio is receiving hostile stares from the parents of the napping children. Aaron quietly suggests that they move their conversation outside. Penny hesitates—she’s still in time-out—but decides if a grown-up said it’s okay then it’s okay.

“By the way,” Aaron says, turning to Emily, “I believe this is yours.” An earring dangles from his fingers.

Emily gasps, taking it into her hands. “How did you find it? I have no idea where I lost it!”

“Yeah, well, just don’t lose it again because I can’t promise I’ll go combing the grounds for it another time.”

She gives him a look. “You combed the grounds for it?”

Penny, with her perfect timing, butts in. “Mr. Aaron, did you miss me while I was gone?” she asks hopefully.

Honestly, Aaron hasn’t given much thought to the HUD Secretary’s daughter in the last few months, but what else is he supposed to say to a face like that? “Very much. What have you been up to, huh?”

When Tom finally ends his call and goes to retrieve Penny, she’s in an undeniably better mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> Thank you so much to Justicerocks, Achos Laazov, ewessling, grace95, Arctic comet, masamune11, and my guest reviewer for reviewing/commenting on the last chapter!
> 
> Thanks for reading, and comments are much appreciated!


	3. A Whole New World

**Three: A Whole New World**

She’s not sure why they’ve suddenly moved to the White House. Mommy told her that everything was okay, but Penny is still very confused and more than a little scared. The big scary men—the Secret Service, she’s learned by now is their name—follow her around a lot. It would be okay if Mike were one of them, but he’s usually with Daddy.

Penny likes her big new bed, but she’s not tired yet. Mommy lets her take a walk around the hallways, with some of the Secret Service trailing her. And that’s how she stumbles across her future husband, hunched over in a chair with his head in his hands. “Mr. Aaron?”

The high, childish voice startles him. He tries to smile for the little girl, but his exhaustion makes it look strained. “Good evening, Miss Kirkman.”

“Miss Kirkman? I’m Penny!” she exclaimed, baffled why Mr. Aaron is suddenly addressing her so formally.

“Penny, then,” Aaron yields, his smile a bit more genuine this time. “It’s quite late. What are you still doing up?”

“If it’s so late, why are _you_ up?”

“A very good point,” he says seriously. “You could say I’m having trouble sleeping.”

Penny frowns. “But you look so tired,” she points out.

The new First Daughter is too observant for her own good, Aaron decides. Well, when with children, best to sink to their level, in his experience. “ _You’re_ the one who looks tired.”

“Nuh-uh! I’m not tired at all!” Penny proclaims, even as she fights off a yawn. Soon Mommy is going to want her back in bed, and she comes up with a brilliant idea to prolong her time with her future husband, just as Emily rounds the corner in search of her colleague. “Mr. Aaron, will you tell me a story?”

Emily ducks back around the corner and stifles a laugh. She’s not quiet enough for Aaron to miss the noise, and he shoots a glare in her direction before looking back at Penny with a much less hostile expression. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Yes, so you might as well tell me a story anyway.”

Aaron can’t find himself to argue with that. “Alright, then. How about Cinderella—”

“Uh-uh. I’ve heard that one a gajillion times. Tell me something new.”

_So demanding,_ Aaron thinks in amusement as he tries to ignore the glances Emily keeps sneaking around the corner. He wracks his brain for one of the stories he used to tell his cousins when they were little. “Alright, I have one. In a small village, there lived a young girl who worked very hard to help her family. She fed the donkey, she went to the market with her father, she looked after her younger brother and sister, but her favorite thing to do was help her mother with her weaving. Her mother was well-known in the village for her fine weaving…”

Penny listens intently to the store, unaware that she isn’t the only one as Emily lingers at the corner, even though she kind of needs to fetch Aaron for something urgent. By the time Aaron narrates the final scene, Penny’s head is drooping as she struggles to keep her eyes open.

“So the girl placed the bundle of weeds in front of the nativity, praying that it would be seen as an equally heartfelt gift as the blanket she wanted to make with her mother. And when she opened her eyes, she saw, to her amazement, that beautiful red flowers were blooming like stars from the ends of each weed. Outside the church, all the grass still in the ground was blooming red too, and for every Christmas after that, the village would decorate with poinsettias.” Aaron peers at Penny’s fatigued face. “Bedtime, don’t you think?”

Her Secret Service escort takes her back to her room. Aaron sits back in his chair and rubs his eyes.

“That was a nice story.” Emily steps forward. “Seriously.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re really good with her, you know. I swear she’s half in love with you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> Thanks so much to Justicerocks, Alicia Olivia Mirza, ewessling, and latenightreader for their feedback on the last chapter!
> 
> Also, congrats to Adan Canto for getting married!
> 
> Reviews are much appreciated. :)


	4. Love Is An Open Door

**Four: Love Is an Open Door**

Penny has nightmares now from turning on the TV when she shouldn’t have and watching Daddy run away from someone who might have been shooting him. She’s not exactly sure what was happening. Mommy told Penny to have her Secret Service escort let her know if she was having bad dreams, and Mommy would come find her right away, and Penny did that for several nights. But earlier today someone said to Mommy that she looked really, really tired. Penny might be little, but she’s smart enough to know that it’s because she keeps waking Mommy up every day.

So tonight, when the nightmares startle her awake again, she cracks the door open and looks up at Dave, the Secret Service on duty tonight. “Dave?”

“Yes, Miss Penny?”

“I had a nightmare.”

“I’ll call the First Lady right away.”

“No!” Penny bites her lip as he looks down at her curiously. “I know she’s really tired,” she says softly. “Can I… Can I just go to the kitchen and get some milk?”

Dave pauses before nodding. “Yes, Miss Penny. I’ll take you there.”

Penny clutches her stuffed pig as they walk down the stairs. The kitchen lights are already on, and they hear a murmured conversation within. Dave checks inside first, and Penny hears him saying, “Good evening, Miss Rhodes, Mr. Shore.”

She gasps and pushes past Dave into the room. “Mr. Aaron!”

Her future husband is standing at the stove, stirring a pot of something that smells very delicious. He looks startled as he halts his conversation—argument—but recovers quickly. “Hey, Penny.”

“Hello to you, too, Penny,” Emily adds teasingly.

Penny smiles sheepishly at her. She didn’t mean to ignore her; she was just so excited about Aaron! “Hi, Emily.”

“What are you doing up?” Aaron inquires, continuing to stir the pot.

She shuffles her feet. “Bad dreams…”

Both he and Emily give her sympathetic looks. “You didn’t want to wake up your mom?” Emily asks gently.

Penny shakes her head. “I wanted some milk.”

“How about something better than milk?” Aaron switches off the stove, and Penny gasps as he pours hot chocolate into some waiting mugs. “Dave, do you want any?”

“No thanks, Mr. Shore.”

Penny happily sits between Aaron and Emily at the square table, as Dave lingers at the door. She slurps on her hot chocolate. It tastes different from how Mommy usually makes it (Daddy usually just mixes hot water and powder), with some flavors that she doesn’t recognize, but she likes it. “Did you add something to this, Mr. Aaron?”

“A few spices. Cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, cayenne pepper.”

“ _Pepper?_ ” Penny wrinkles her nose. “That doesn’t go in sweets!”

“You’d be surprised. Have some more.”

But Penny makes a face and pushes her mug away. Aaron and Emily exchange amused looks over her head. “ _I_ think it’s rather tasty,” Emily claims.

“Thank you, Em,” he drawls. “That means a lot to me.”

And suddenly Penny feels compelled to try the hot chocolate again. It _has_ to be good if Aaron made it, she concludes, as she pulls the mug toward her again and stares suspiciously at its contents. Aaron makes a funny coughing sound into his own drink.

In the end, Penny finishes her hot chocolate, and truthfully, she does really like it. But when Aaron asks her how it was, she sticks her nose up in the air and says loftily, “It was okay.”

“Only okay?” Aaron looks scandalized. “That was my _abuela_ ’s recipe.”

“What’s ab-wela?”

By the end of the night, Penny has acquired a small vocabulary of Spanish words. But before Aaron and Emily can send her back to bed, she asks one last question:

“How do you say ‘I love you’?” She stares up at Aaron with wide eyes.

The corner of his mouth twitches. “Why would you want to know that?”

“Because...because...because I have lots and lots of love to give!” She stretches her arms wide to show how much.

Aaron can’t hold back the smile this time. “That would be _te quiero._ ”

“ _Te...quiero?_ ” Penny tries it out then grins. “ _Te quiero,_ Aaron!” She darts out the door Dave is holding open for her. “Good night!”

When the door shuts behind them, Emily turns to him, smirking. “Looks like someone has a puppy crush on you.”

“Shut up,” he mutters, going back to the stove to make more hot chocolate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> Thanks so much to Justicerocks, Alicia Olivia Mirza, latenightreader, PrideofMountVernon, Karios, ewessling, grace95, and BeWhoYouAre99 for their reviews and comments on the last chapter!
> 
> Feedback is much appreciated!


	5. Once Upon a Dream

**Five: Once Upon a Dream**

Camp David was fun, but Penny’s glad now they can come back and live with Daddy again. He’s always busy, but at least now she can see him every day, even for just a little while. And she gets to see all her friends, and the nice White House chef who makes the perfect pancakes, and, of course, Mr. Aaron.

Weeks pass, and before Penny knows it, it’s her eighth birthday. Mommy is planning a big party for her with all her friends from school, and the chef has told her that he’s going to make her the best cake she’s ever eaten. Best of all, everything is going to be princess-themed! They’ve found costumes for her friends, but only Penny is going to get to be Cinderella.

Seth is wearing Mickey Mouse ears and big white gloves as he ushers a stream of Snow Whites and Ariels into the party room, trying to ignore Emily, who’s wearing Belle’s blue dress, as she snickers and takes pictures of him. “Yeah, you just wait,” Seth mutters as he plasters on a grin for the giddy little princesses. And then he smirks. “You haven’t seen Aaron yet, have you?”

Emily lowers her phone. “No…”

“Oh, good. I’d hate for the surprise to be ruined.”

Aaron is trying not to look too sour-faced as he finishes buttoning up his costume. “Sir, can you just tell me…why _me?_ ”

“Well, you do look the part,” the president says cheerfully. “And I’ve heard Penny has a bit of a crush on you, so it’d make her day.”

Aaron suppresses a sigh. The First Daughter’s puppy crush on him is usually cute, but when it places him in embarrassing situations, like now, that’s when it bothers him. Of course he’d never say anything to Penny—he can be cutthroat, but he’s not going to break a little kid’s heart—but when Kirkman himself seems to be finding humor in it, he finds himself thinking mutinous thoughts.

_I serve at the pleasure of the president,_ Aaron grumbles internally as he and Kirkman stride toward the party room. The increasing buzz of chattering young girls, as they draw nearer, is giving him flashbacks of his baby cousins’ playdates and parties that he had to supervise when they were younger. The President ducks inside first, greeting all the guests; based on the noise level inside, Aaron wagers that the girls’ parents are more impressed than the girls themselves.

“Look at you, Mr. Special Advisor.”

Aaron turns toward Seth’s voice and holds back a laugh at the sight of his Mickey Mouse costume. Then beside him is Emily, and he can’t help thinking how lovely she looks (not that she’s never lovely).

“Hey, Handsome,” Emily teases, something flickering in her eyes as she looks him up and down.

“ _Bonjour, mademoiselle,_ ” Aaron drawls back.

Before either can say anything further, Kirkman sticks his head out of the door and gestures for Aaron to come in.

“Good luck,” Emily says lightly as Aaron looks heavenward and prays for deliverance.

“Thanks.” Aaron inhales deeply and follows Kirkman into the room, and the high squeals of excited young girls escapes into the hallway before the door shuts again.

Penny gasps as Mr. Aaron arrives, and he looks just like…“ _Prince Charming!_ ”

Aaron’s bright smile gives no indication of the suffering he’s undergoing. “Good afternoon, Your Highnesses. I heard that it was a special someone’s birthday.”

From the side of the room, Kirkman gives him a discreet thumbs up as he mouths, _You’re doing great!_ Yes, because it’s the President he’s trying to impress right now, not a dozen giddy children.

Penny never stops hugging Aaron or holding his hand throughout the photo shoots. The group shots are kind of torture, but when it’s just him and Penny, it’s pretty all right. She keeps beaming like it’s the best day of her life, and that makes him feel ever so much better about the fact that “hashtag Prince Aaron” might be about to trend on social media.

After the President nudges him a few times, Aaron gallantly asks Penny for a dance.

“Save one for me,” Emily whispers before he departs for the ‘dance floor.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> Thanks so much to Justicerocks, Fawneb, BeWhoYouAre99, ewessling, RedPheonixWitch, latenightreader, and selahinthesky for their feedback on the last chapter!
> 
> Thank you for reading, and comments are much appreciated!


	6. Kiss the Girl

**Six: Kiss the Girl**  

Today is a very big day, but Penny isn’t sure why. For several weeks, she’s noticed that everyone in the White House is extremely tense. Daddy, Mommy, Aaron, Emily, Seth, everyone.

“Don’t worry about it, Penny,” Daddy soothes her when she frets. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

The tension-filled afternoon passes like any other; it’s been like this for so long that it almost feels normal now. When it all finally comes to a head and figuratively explodes, Penny is caught off guard as the White House begins to rumble with screams and shouts.

“What happened?” she asks Leo, afraid at first that there’s been another attack before she recognizes the celebratory tone of the cheering.

Leo looks around wildly and flags down the first person to rush past them whom he recognizes. “Aaron!”

Their dad’s Special Advisor skids to a halt. Like everyone else running around, his expression is a combination of exhilaration, disbelief, and relief. “Yes, Leo?”

“What’s going on?” Penny asks plaintively. Something is making everyone happy, and she wants to know what.

Aaron crouches down so he’s more eye-level with her. “We finally caught all of the bad people who blew up the Capitol.”

Penny gasps. “You did?” It’s taken so long—in her eyes, at least—that she would’ve forgotten about it if people still didn’t talk about the explosion in every other conversation.

“Not _me,_ ” Aaron corrects. “Your father, his generals, his soldiers, his strategists, everyone played a part. If you noticed that we’ve all been a bit on edge during the last few weeks, it’s because we’ve been counting down to the moment that would decide whether we succeeded or failed in our plans. And we succeeded.”

“ _Really?_ ” Penny claps her hands excitedly. “Yay! Does that mean everyone’s going to be happier now?”

“Much happier,” Aaron confirms.

“Does this mean we get cake today?”

He laughs, an open and honest grin on his face. “Yes, lots and lots of cake. Come on, you two, let’s find your dad. I’m sure he and your mom want to be with you right now.”

A celebration party has already been hastily thrown together in one of the larger rooms, and the President and First Lady are in the center of a swarm of White House staffers, everyone gabbing away about their great success and their immense hopes for the future. Alex spots her children first and waves them toward her. Aaron helps clear a path through the crowd in front of them as Penny clings to the back of his suit jacket, Leo trailing behind.

“Thank you, Aaron,” Alex says warmly before drawing in her children for a tight hug.

“Mommy, did we really beat the bad guys?” Penny asks.

The President turns toward them. “We did, little pea!” He picks her up, and she throws her arms around her father’s neck. “The good guys always win, don’t you know that?”

Penny nods fervently. “Aaron said that we get cake today.”

“Did he?” Alex replies, shooting Aaron a warning look in jest. Aaron shrugs, as if saying, _What could I do?_

“Yes, you get cake today! Everybody gets cake!” the President agrees. “What kind do you want, little pea?”

“Chocolate, duh!”

A request is sent to the chef to prepare plenty of chocolate cake for everybody.

The First Family is once again surrounded by people who all want to speak with the President about their great victory. Secretary Hookstraten has a surprisingly emotional conversation with him, ending in a strong handshake and some wet eyes as they congratulate one another. Seth looks drunk off of the atmosphere, helplessly laughing giddily every few minutes as he tries to write notes for the President’s impending speech to the public about their successful mission, before they both give up—“Let’s just declare today a national holiday, Seth. No one works.”—and he goes to get a glass of punch.

Late to the party, Emily finally pushes her way into the room. Before she can even open her mouth to say something to Kirkman, Aaron swoops and pulls her in for a long, deep kiss. There’s stunned silence for a few moments before the crowd explodes into cheers, whistles, and catcalls, Seth being the loudest and most notable.

Penny moves to hide behind Daddy and tries not to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no fluff without angst. XD
> 
> To be continued...
> 
> Thanks so much to Justicerocks, BeWhoYouAre99, RedPheonixWitch, thedesignatedsurvivor, Alicia Olivia Mirza, latenightreader, and kittykat822 for their feedback on the last chapter!
> 
> Fawneb: I saw the picture, looks like a new haircut to me! And I do like curls. :)
> 
> Comments are much appreciated!


	7. I Won't Say (I'm In Love)

**Seven: I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)**           

_Knock, knock._

“Penny, are you in there?”

Wait. _Knock, knock._

“Little pea, it’s Daddy. Can I talk to you?”

Wait.

“Alright, I’m coming in.” Daddy slips inside her room and shuts the door behind him. He approaches her bed, where she’s drawn her knees toward her and is looking sullenly into space, and sits on the edge. “Penny, what’s the matter? You’ve been in such a bad mood since the party.”

She turns away from him.

“Little pea, talk to me. I’ll listen to whatever you have to say, no judgment, no scolding. Promise.” When she continues to remain silent, Tom acts on a hunch. “Does this have anything to do with Aaron?”

“ _No,_ ” she blurts a little too quickly.

“Uh-huh.” Daddy raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

Penny sighs and bites her lip. “Maybe.”

“Penny, I thought you liked Aaron. And I know he’s very nice to you. What happened?” And then Tom remembers the very theatrical kiss that happened between his Chief of Staff and Special Advisor, and he remembers how Penny is supposed to have a crush on the latter. “Oh, little pea.”

“It’s not fair,” Penny sobs.

“Why isn’t it fair?” Daddy asks patiently.

“I—I—I like him. And he likes me back, right? He does nice things and gives me compliments. So he shouldn’t kiss other girls.”

Tom suppresses a sigh as he prepares for his most difficult conversation thus far with his daughter. “Penny,” he begins calmly, “how old are you?”

She sniffs. “Eight.”

“How old is Aaron?”

“Um…I don’t know.”

“He’s thirty-three. That means he’s twenty-five years older than you.”

Penny frowns. “But I’ll get older one day, then it won’t matter. Right?”

“You’ll get older, but so will Aaron, just like everyone else. By the time you’re ‘old enough,’ he’ll be around my age, and you know Daddy is very old.”

“I don’t care if he’s old.”

“Okay. But think about how Aaron would feel. He would have to wait an awfully long time for you, wouldn’t he?”

“...Yeah. I guess.”

“And that wouldn’t be fair to him. Besides, you’re right that Aaron does like you. I think he sees you as a great friend, maybe even as good as family. But don’t you think he would want to find a princess he could love and cherish sooner than how long it would take for you to get old enough?”

Penny rubs her eyes. Daddy holds out his sleeve so she can blow her nose. “Is Emily his princess?” she asks thickly.

“I think so.”

“Are they gonna live happily ever after?”

Tom smiles. “I hope so.” He chucks her under the chin. “And so will you, little pea. Aaron isn’t the only Prince Charming in the world, you know. When you get older, after you’ve lived life longer and had more experience, you’ll find another Prince Charming who’ll actually be your age. Isn’t that much better than a Prince Charming who’d be an old man at your wedding?”

“Aaron’s not old,” Penny mumbles, but she’s starting to smile now. “And you aren’t old either, Daddy.”

“Aw, thank you, little pea.” They hug before Penny goes to wash her face.

When she comes back to the room, she asks, “Can we talk to Aaron and Emily?”

They go find the White House’s newest power couple. They look up from their work when the President and his daughter arrive. “Penny!” Aaron exclaims. “I haven’t seen you in days. Are you okay?”

Penny nods, suddenly feeling a lot shyer. “I’m okay.”

“We’re glad to hear that,” Emily says warmly.

With everyone’s attention on her, Penny starts to feel a little pressured and decides to get it over with, so she blurts out, “Aaron, it’s okay if you and Emily get married, but you have to promise to live happily ever after.” She runs out of the room.

They stare after her, and the President as he quickly follows his daughter. “Married?” Emily echoes. “Who said anything about getting married? Did you propose when I wasn’t paying attention?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be concluded...
> 
> Thank you so much to ewessling, Justicerocks, BeWhoYouAre99, grace95, Fawneb, and latenightreader for giving feedback on the last chapter! Comments are much appreciated! Thanks for reading.


	8. Some Day My Prince Will Come

**Eight: Some Day My Prince Will Come**

It’s been well over a year since Penny had her first heartbreak and consequently got over it. Still, she can’t help feeling a small twinge in her chest when they finish exchanging vows and the officiant announces Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Shore.

Daddy squeezes her hand as they depart from the ceremony and head for the reception. “How are you holding up, little pea?”

“I’m fine,” she says quietly. And really, she is. A lot can change in a year, and for Penny, a year meant putting things in perspective and realizing what were the fantastical dreams of a child versus things that could actually happen. She’s done a lot of growing up in the past year, which, almost contradictorily, made her realize that she wouldn’t ever be ‘old enough’ for Aaron.

And the funny thing is, she’s fine with that. Mostly.

Everyone else is so happy at the wedding that Penny is determined not to miss out, so she does her best to feel happy with all the rest of them. Soon enough, she forgets her earlier smidgen of sorrow and is running around laughing with one of the other few children in attendance.

_They really do look like a fairy tale,_ Penny thinks wistfully as the newlywed couple take the dance floor for their first dance. _And they look really happy._

When the dance floor opens up to everyone else, after waltzing with Mommy, Daddy asks Penny for a dance, and—with some nudging from Mommy—so does Leo. Penny also twirls around with Dave, her favorite Secret Service agent after Mike, and steps on Seth’s toes a few times. She’s swept up in the fun and collapses onto a chair, exhausted but giddy as she finally runs out of dance partners.

A plate of cake appears in front of her face. Surprised, Penny blinks and looks up at the groom, who’s smiling gently at her. “Cake for Her Highness?” Aaron asks.

She plays along and benignly accepts it. “A most delicious cake,” she deems after a few bites.

“I’m glad to hear it.” The corners of his eyes crinkle. “Princess Penny, would you like to dance?”

“Yes!” She jumps up. He offers his arm and escorts her to the dance floor. Aaron is an excellent dancer—no wonder he and Emily looked like they were floating—and Penny almost feels like she’s really a princess.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” he tells her as he walks her back to her seat.

She curtsies in return and watches him return to his new wife. Emily says something to him that makes him laugh, and his response causes her to smile and playfully hit his shoulder. They are very much in love, Penny decides, just like in the fairy tales. Her heart feels funny, but it isn’t with remorse; rather, her heart feels light and warm.

Daddy sits down beside her. “You looked like you were having fun out there.”

“I did,” Penny confirms.

“Are you enjoying the wedding now?”

She nods.

He hugs her. “I’m so proud of you, Penny. There are plenty of grown adults out there who would have behaved much worse than you this past year. You’ve always liked Emily, so I was very glad when you continued to be her friend.”

“I love Emily,” Penny protests.

“Just like you love Aaron?”

She pauses. “Maybe not _that_ much.”

Daddy laughs and pats her shoulder. “I know they’re glad that you haven’t been holding their relationship against them. They love you too, you know.”

Penny shyly kicks her feet in the air. “It’s only because they love each other so much. I would’ve done something if they didn’t.” He chuckles at that. “Daddy?”

“Yes, little pea?”

“I think we’re all going to live happily ever after.”

Tom Kirkman smiles. “So do I, Penny. So do I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Justicerocks, BeWhoYouAre99, and ewessling for their commentary on the last chapter! Thank you everyone for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this story! Any final comments are much appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued...
> 
> Comments are appreciated!


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